love & the inhumi

James Jordan · 12 Feb 2002, 17:33 · from urth-v0202.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at home.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) love & the inhumi
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 11:33:03 -0600
Message-ID: <urth-v0202-149 at digest.urth.net>
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At 05:40 AM 2/7/2002, you wrote:

>If people stop hating the inhumi, who get their souls from people, will stop
>being god's scourge.
>
>Unfortunately Wolfe is not offering any facile answer here.   The healing
>power of sexual love does not work particularly well where the inhumi are
>concerned:  Jahlee's "humanisation" and interior sexualisation and love for
>Horn/Silk only leads her to try to kill Nettle.
>
>If anything the message of the books seems to be that you *can't* love the
>alien, or that it is a task that requires a god's patience.
>
>
>     hartshorn

         In another post I mentioned that Wolfe sees sanctification as a 
very long and difficult process. His comment to me years ago about Severian 
was that Severian has come from a horrible background, and is gradually and 
traumatically trying to become a better person. I think we need to bear 
this theme in mind in the Short Sun presentation of human/inhumi 
relationships. Wolfe does, IMO, present what needs to happen: people to 
love inhumi as they love themselves (love your Neighbor as you love 
yourself, and inhumi are part of Neighborness). But there are going to be 
loads of setbacks along the way. These failures ought not to be taken as 
indications that the programme is wrong.
         When Jahlee dies in Nettle's arms, that is one of the most moving 
scenes I've ever read. It gives me chills just to remember it. It is a 
wonderful image of hope in spite of failure.

Nutria

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<html>
At 05:40 AM 2/7/2002, you wrote:
If people stop hating the inhumi,
who get their souls from people, will stop
being god's scourge.
Unfortunately Wolfe is not offering any facile answer here.  
The healing
power of sexual love does not work particularly well where the inhumi
are
concerned:  Jahlee's "humanisation" and interior
sexualisation and love for
Horn/Silk only leads her to try to kill Nettle.
If anything the message of the books seems to be that you *can't* love
the
alien, or that it is a task that requires a god's patience.

    hartshorn
<x-tab>        </x-tab>In another
post I mentioned that Wolfe sees sanctification as a very long and
difficult process. His comment to me years ago about Severian was that
Severian has come from a horrible background, and is gradually and
traumatically trying to become a better person. I think we need to bear
this theme in mind in the Short Sun presentation of human/inhumi
relationships. Wolfe does, IMO, present what needs to happen: people to
love inhumi as they love themselves (love your Neighbor as you love
yourself, and inhumi are part of Neighborness). But there are going to be
loads of setbacks along the way. These failures ought not to be taken as
indications that the programme is wrong.
<x-tab>        </x-tab>When
Jahlee dies in Nettle's arms, that is one of the most moving scenes I've
ever read. It gives me chills just to remember it. It is a wonderful
image of hope in spite of failure.
Nutria</html>

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